ANKARA, September 29. /TASS/. Discussions about Russian grain exports to Africa with the participation of Turkey and Qatar are ongoing, a diplomat in Ankara told TASS.

"These discussions are ongoing. The negotiations are being held between the foreign ministries. Administrative barriers should be removed to launch the supplies," the diplomat said.

According to the diplomat, Turkey is fully committed to the implementation of these supplies.

On August 31, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his Turkish counterpart, Hakan Fidan, held talks in Moscow. They discussed the Black Sea grain deal and how to implement the proposed initiative to supply one million tons of Russian grain to Turkey at a preferential price with Qatar providing financial backing. On September 4, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed this issue at their bilateral meeting in Sochi.

The parties noted that the proposal is not meant as a replacement for the now-defunct Black Sea Grain Initiative, which was terminated on July 17. Rather, its goal is to ameliorate critical food security issues affecting the neediest countries. Turkey has expressed support for the proposed initiative and stated that it stood ready to implement it.